Let's Try Again
by Andy.Says.RAWR
Summary: There are two types of people in the world. The good ones... and the huge douches. Kayla is trying to decide where Malcolm falls under but she has to find out which she's in first: the good-goods or the bitches. Probably the latter. She's trying to change that so... let's try again. Mayla AU. Second fic in my "Beating Hearts" series. FIRST EVER MALCOLM/KAYLA FIC! Please read.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hello my lovely rawrtenders! It is Andy! I have yet another edition to my Beating Hearts series. It. *pom pom pom* Is. *pum pum pum* A. *pam pam pam* Mayla fic! For those who do not know what Mayla is (I know most of you don't) it's perfectly fine. Cuuuuuuz I'm pretty sure there hasn't ever been an official non-canon ship of them. So if you usee a Mayla fic out there. Call me ;D Because. Yeah. I'm claiming this ship. Oh. I haven't told you what it is. It is...**

**Malcolm from Cabin Six. **

**And Kayla from the Apollo cabin. **

**I mean, imagine it: flirty girl and modest guy. Huh? Huh?**

**Hey. Don't like? Don't read. No one's stopping you. I just think that this ship would be really interesting. Just give it a try.**

**There will be multiple other pairings such as Percabeth, Jasper, Thalico, Tratie (OTP forever) and much, much more. **

**Disclaimer: I have stated numerous times before. I shall not say it again. VnV**

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**.:O:.**

**CHAPTER ONE**

Can I just say something right now? Yes? Thank you. I know this will sound ridiculously cliché but... love _can _change you. At least, it changed _me_. God. I sounded like a sap. But you know what?

I'm happy I got that off my chest.

Kayla Solace here. I am sixteen years old, same as my twin brother, Will. Will and I are alike in many ways. Hair, eyes, attitude, habits, basically everything.

But there's another similarity between us. And I'm trying to change that for one person. I am also trying to forget about that one person. Both are very hard.

"Kayla."

I turned my head to see Will standing impatiently by my door. Will was blonde (like me), had blue eyes (like me), an athletic build (like me **(A/N: as in athletic for girls)**), a bright smile (like me) and a tall height (unlike me). He was a whooping six feet while I was stuck at five-four. We both took after our dad. Will was my older-by-fifty-two-minutes twin brother. He never let me live those seconds down.

"Whaddup?" I popped. Continuing to arrange my music. I wanted to be a musician when I grew up. I was mostly into a piano and guitar but had my fair share in other musical instruments. I also made playlists and mash-ups frequently. It gets the feeling of stress off my shoulders.

"I'm gonna play some GTA over at Mal's. You coming?" He asked. It didn't sound like he was actually interested. Someone must've made him ask me to come. I haven't been over at Malcolm's for... wow... four years.

"Sure." I shrugged. "I have nothing better to do anyway."

He made an annoyed sound. "Then take a shower and get downstairs. It's starting to get cloudy out and I don't want to be caught in the rain."

I slipped my laptop in my bag and decided to dress casual. It was just a childhood friend. I took out simple black tank top and skirt. Casual attire. Yeah.

I took a quick shower 'cuz who knows how long boys play video games?

"About time," Will grumbled when I was downstairs.

"Beauty takes time," I teased. I straightened the pale skirt and began to strap my black heels on. **(A/N: Kayla is sort of like Drew except she's a tad bit kinder. To her friends at least. Who said every story had to have someone good for a main character? c:)**

"Time is something you apparently don't have." Will smirked. Easy for him to say. Unlike us girls, boys just needed ten seconds to get ready. He probably just found the most decent smelling shirt and jeans.

"Jerk," I mumbled. Will was also cocky, jerky and every other _ky _you could think of. Except maybe perky. That's just weird.

"Carry the Xbox," he told me. I rolled my eyes and slung my own backpack over my shoulder as I grabbed the bag with the black console inside.

"Doesn't Malcolm have his own?" I asked.

"How are we supposed to play GTA online with one Xbox?" He asked.

"Sassy." In truth, I knew nothing about any of this guy stuff. Except that their all perverted douches. **(A/N: No offense to those guys out there. Seriously. Just... Just read and you might get it better.)** But that was fine because guys would be guys. And I am _completely _straight.

Sorry girls.

Will stepped out if the front door with his own bag and an umbrella, in case it rained.

"Well?" He called over.

I went over to him and we walked to a certain Chase boy's house half a block away.

**.:O:.**

Their house was huge. It was definitely different from when we came over last time. I'm not going to go into to much detail because I'd take up, like, forever just describing the front yard.

"Big place," I mumbled.

Will nodded. "Their mom, Athena, owns that huge architecture company."

I perked up when I remembered something. "Is Annabeth there?" I asked, referring to Malcolm's sister. She wasn't younger by him much so they were still in the same grade.

Will looked surprised. "Yeah, I guess. Why?"

"I'm not gonna watch you to turds play NBA—"

"GTA," Will corrected.

"—all day. I need some girl time." I finished. I didn't want to see some teenage boys shouting none sense about killing and racing and fighting and whatever they were into. No. That wasn't how I rolled.

Will laughed heartily. A laugh he rarely even made any more. I mean. Will actually used to be nice. He still is... just less. I wonder what happened to that sweet boy...

_"Mommy! Daddy! Look!" I shrieked in delight. Will and I were seven then. _

_ Our parents walked over to where we were playing in the sand. They laughed when they saw Will buried in the sand, only exposing his head. The young boy was grinning goofily. He liked the attention. _

_ It was summer and we were at the East Coast. There were a lot of kids today but we found a space were barely anyone went to. It was behind this huge rock. It was colder but not too cold. _

_ "Where's my body?" Will shouted happily. _

_ My father chuckled and knelt down beside my brother's head. He ruffled Will's blonde hair while grinning. "Someday, Will, you're going to grow up into a charming boy. You'll break hearts. But you're going to make someone very happy."_

_ Will's face looked troubled but his usual smile replaced the pout. My mother playfully scolded my dad. _

_ "What about me, daddy?" I squealed. I was curious to hear what I would be. My father was very good at predicting things. _

_ He picked me up and swung me around. "You, my little Kayla, are going to be _beautiful_. You'll be breaking hearts without even knowing it. But you'll always be my little girl. You'll love the guy you'll least expect. I just hope I'm wrong when you grow up." He put me down and put his arm around my mother. "On second thought, I hope you two don't grow up at all."_

_ "Why?" Will asked. _

_ It was not her father who replied but her mother. "Because you two will leave us for the one you love."_

_ Will made a face. "Ew. No. Girls are gross. I'll never love a girl. Or a guy. Weird. I promise you dad."_

_ Apollo—our father—shook his head and our mother—Leonna—made a disapproving sound. _

_ "I'll never leave you guys," I stated proudly. "I will fall in love one day but I will not leave you!"_

_ Apollo yanked Will put of the sand and hugged us, his children. _

_ My mother joined the embrace and whispered to us silently. "We'll never leave you two either."_

They broke that promise. They aren't here now are they? My mom's been in New Jersey for over two years now. She got a new job at a hospital there. And Dad's been around the world meeting celebrities, touching elbows with Elton John and Hayley Williams, partying with Jack Barakat and Megan Fox and—who knows—he probably has another family for over four years now. Will kept his promise so far though. He hasn't fallen in love. He had girlfriends but never for more than two weeks. He's learned to move fast. Our cousin on our father's side, Lee Fletcher, stays with us now and is our official guardian since he's twenty-three. He's out constantly because that guy has a life too you know. Every now and then, our parents would send us money. Much, much more money than we actually needed.

"Kayla?" Will asked. "You okay?" He stared at me curiously. I then realized that I was just standing there. "Yeah." I smiled. "Great."

"Okay then." He clapped his hands together. "Let's go inside." He took the bag with the Xbox from me and rang the doorbell. It opened to reveal a lady with slightly curly blonde hair and stormy gray eyes.

She smiled. "Hello Will. Malcolm's in the lounge with Annabeth and Percy. The others aren't here yet." I'm pretty sure she noticed me then because her eyebrows raised when she saw me but the smile was still there. "Kayla? Is that you? I haven't seen you in years! Don't you look lovely?"

I smiled thankfully and she lead us inside. "Go on right ahead to the lounge," she said. "I'll bring some snacks up in a bit."

We thanked her and I followed Will to a room upstairs. The house seemed bigger from the inside. Will pushed the door opened and we were greeted with a large dark room. There were a few lava lamps scattered around and under the faint red light, I could see beanbags and pillows and blankets and other things.

"Will!" A voice hollered before the lights switched on. I could see the cozy room more clearly now, along with the people in it. Annabeth sat on a low couch with a book in her hand. Two other boys sat facing one wall. There were four flat screen TVs pushed to the side but only two of them were switched on. A raven haired boy sat in front of one and a curly blonde boy sat in front of the other. Both, though, were engrossed in the game they were playing on separate Xbox consoles.

"'Sup guys." Will turned one television on and began to set his place up.

"Hey man," the blonde one greeted. He paused his game and gestured for the other boy to do so as well. They stood up and they each gave Will a complicated handshake all guys seemed to know.

"Will, my friend!" the black haired boy grinned. "It's been a long time, dude."

"Percy," Will smiled. "Too long."

The curly blonde turned when he noticed someone else in the room. When his gray eyes met my blue ones, his jaw dropped and his face flushed.

"H-h-hey there," he stuttered. I smiled in reply causing him to get even more flustered—if that was possible. I took the moment to properly _examine _the boy. In other words, _check_ _him_ _out_. He was cute, that was for sure. His curly hair was sticking up in random places but still managed to look neat. He had a really good build but looked too goody-goody, in my opinion.

"Malcolm," I greeted.

"H-hi Kayla," he said in reply. "Haven't seen you in a while."

"Yeah." I'll admit; I was impressed. Malcolm Chase was no longer the scrawny boy who was picked on constantly. He was _hot_.

Annabeth looked up and her face washed in relief. "Oh, thank God. Another girl. I don't know what I would've done if I had to spend another two minutes with these sick sadists. They keep encouraging each other to kill some random chics on the street."

"Love you too, babe!" Percy called.

"Sadly, one of them is my boyfriend." She sighed.

I plopped down beside her and tucked my knees under me. "Hey Annabeth."

"Hi Kayla. How've you been?" She smiled.

"Oh, you know. I've been doing great with my parents always gone." I looked down sadly.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, sounding sincere.

I waved her off. "Don't be. I'm doing awesome. It's Will I'm worried about." And it's true. After our parents announced that they were leaving for a while, he changed. Gone was the innocent child who had once been Will Solace.

Annabeth nodded sympathetically. "Mal and I used to be like that until we moved in with our actual mom instead of living with our dad and the steps."

I tilted my head and smiled at a passing memory of when we were younger and I went over at Annabeth's dad's place to play. "How's Bobby and Matthew doing?"

Annabeth laughed. "Their doing great. One of the only reasons I come over there. Though my step mom doesn't really like it."

Someone knocked on the door and it opened gently to reveal Athena with two plastic bags. She dropped them on one of the coffee cables. "There are some chips and drinks in the bags." She smiled at each of us in turn but glared when her eyes landed on Percy. She exited the room shortly after.

Annabeth sighed. "I don't think my mom approves of my relationship with Percy."

"I don't think so either," I agreed. Annabeth reached over and grabbed a pack of _Ruffles _from the bag. "What drinks do you want?" she asked me. "We have some Coke, Royal Grape, Mountain Dew, Minute Maid... What?"

"Is there water?" I asked. She nodded and passed me a bottle of mineral water. I twisted the cap open and took a nice gulp.

Annabeth asked suddenly, "What's up with you and my brother?"

I choked on my water but managed not to make it too embarrassing. "What are you talking about?" I coughed.

Annabeth looked at me apologetically but turned curious again. "I'm good at reading people. He obviously has a thing for you. Do you?"

I thought for a moment, choosing to answer truthfully. "I don't know."

Annabeth nodded. "Just... don't hurt him, Kayla. He's a good guy. You're totally awesome but I've heard of your... reputation with boys."

I flushed. I knew I was a bit of a... _socialite_. But hearing someone as smart as Annabeth say it made me feel a bit ashamed. "Don't worry," I assured. "Malcolm doesn't seem like my type."

Annabeth nodded yet again but she didn't look so sure.

I know I'm a bad person. I know I hurt people. Guess what? I'm not one of those perfect people because there _are _none. We all have flaws and things we're not proud of. I won't change it.

I'll embrace it.

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**A/N: How do you like it? Are you shipping them now? Ey, ey? Are you gonna write fanfics about them? Or did you decide that this story was totally shitty so your gonna turn a blind eye on this ship. I personally like how Kayla's realistic and she knows that she does wrong stuff yet she also knows she can't do anything about it. Kind of like real people. Well... It's going to get interesting soon so try to read the next chapters... that will be posted on Saturday unless I get five reviews just to see if you're interested in it. Oh and I know that I am currently working on my other story: ****_Can I Make It Out? _****but I don't need to worry about that yet since I already have the following chappies. Have some faith guys... (; I am a top class multi-tasker!**

**Rawr everyone. ;D**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Heyo. I'd like to thank all those who reviewed and actually liked this ship. I will make you love it. :3 I don't have much to say so please enjoy this chapter! Oh and I know I haven't updated on forever. I have no excuses except for a huge writer's block. Thankfully, I have it now. **

**Disclaimer: **

**Andy: Travis, dear. Do the disclaimer please. **

**Travis: What? No. I'm—did you just call me dear?**

**Andy: Uh... I don't own PJO just the plot!**

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**.:O:.**

**CHAPTER TWO**

Annabeth and I kept chatting and catching up with each other until it came to the point where we resolved to watching the boys play their game.

"Will. Will! Cops! Throw you're grenade or something!"

"No you idiot! You're too close! That'll blow you up too!"

"I'll just run."

"Other way!"

"Mal. Kill those girls there. They look suspicious."

"I'll get arrested like Will."

"So? This is GTA."

"Oh! Steal that car!"

I rolled my eyes. Only boys. Annabeth seemed to think so as well because I heard her snort beside me. I smiled softly and felt my eyes starting to get heavy.

"Mind if I crash for a bit?" I yawned.

Annabeth smirked at my sleepy figure. "You can sleep in the sofa in the corner. It's got to be the most comfortable seat in this room. Just grab a pillow and blanket lying around in this mess." I thanked her and gently laid down on the couch. I pulled a blanket over my legs and let my sleep take me away.

I groaned as I woke up to silence. I could tell I was still in Annabeth's house but I couldn't tell what time it was. The room was dark and, like before, illuminated by dim lights. I patted around for my phone and smiled lightly as my hands closed around a rectangular device. I pressed the button on the lower center of my iPhone and shut my eyes as I was temporarily blinded by the bright light. The first thing I saw was the lock screen. It had a dark background with the words _live as though heaven is on earth_ in capital letters. It definitely wasn't mine. The time showed 9.46 so that means I've been asleep for almost five hours. Is Will still here? Oh, God.

"What's that bright light?" a sleepy voice groaned. "Am I supposed to follow it?"

I jumped in shock as I saw something move at the other edge of the room. I made out a humanoid shape sitting up.

"Kayla, is that you?" the person, clearly a boy, asked groggily.

"Percy? Yeah, it's me." I squinted, letting my eyes adjust to the dark.

"Shit. What time is it?" I heard Will groan. I told him the time and he let out a long sound of annoyance.

I heard someone stand up and walk away. I was about to ask where they were going but was interrupted when an extremely bright light flooded the room.

"Fuck!" Will.

"Turn it off!" Me.

"No!" Malcolm.

But the best by far was Percy's. It was the typical: "the light! It burns!"

After the world came back into focus, I glared at the smirking Annabeth standing by the light switch.

"Why would you do that?" Malcolm asked incredulously. His face was buried beneath a pillow so his voice came out muffled.

Annabeth shrugged and walked back over to us. I properly adjusted myself on the sofa and patted down my hair. It tended to become a mess when I slept.

"Will," I called. He groaned in reply. "_Will_," I insisted.

"What?" He lifted his head warily to glare at me for interrupting his nappy.

"I think we should be getting home soon," I said.

Instead, Annabeth answered. "You can stay over if you like. We wouldn't mind." She was also referring to Percy now. Said boy was laying on his back. A little drool was dripping out of his mouth. The blonde girl took the liberty of throwing a pillow at his face. Nothing. She threw another. Still nothing. She kept throwing pillows at him until she ran out of them. She then took the pillow which I was using. Guess what? Yep! Nothing.

"Oh, for Christ's sake," I snapped. I couldn't go back to sleep with all the noise. I grabbed my backpack and threw it the sleeping raven haired boy. He jerked awake as the bag hit him. It was quite heavy because of all the emergency kits I bring.

"Holy freak!" he groaned. "What was that?"

Will snorted in laughter. "That, my friend, is the horror of Kayla's makeup sets."

"Why would you?" he moaned.

"Because you failed to notice the multiple pillows I threw at you," Annabeth simply.

"I'm awake now. What do you want?"

"Are you staying over or what?" she asked impatiently.

"If I say yes, can I go back to sleep?" Annabeth nodded. "Then yes! Goodnight!" The boy then proceeded to doze off.

"I'm going downstairs to eat dinner." Malcolm stood. "Mom probably left some pizza in the fridge. Anyone wanna come?" Percy was busy sleeping, Annabeth shook her head no and Will just told him to bring some up for him.

I shrugged and stood up. "I'll go. I'm starved. Do you have salad?"

Malcolm flushed and nodded mutely. He held the door open for me and I walked out. The lights in the hall were all switched of exempt for a single light at the top of the stairs. Malcolm guided me to the kitchen in the first floor, turning on the lights in the process.

He moved to the fridge and took out two plastic containers. He faced me and held up one of them up. "Would you settle for some veggie soup?"

I smiled, letting some flirtatiousness seep into the gesture. "Sure." But my smile faltered when he looked away without any acknowledgement. Usually a guy would smile goofily back. Instead, he busied himself with the microwave and stove.

"This should take about five minutes," he said after finishing up with the food. He faced me calmly.

"You cook a lot?" I asked. I wouldn't be too surprised though. The Chase family was skilled in many ways.

"Yeah," he replied. You could tell it was getting awkward. Fast. He attempted to break the silence. "So, uh, how have you been the past four years?"

"Good. You?" I said lamely.

"Great..." he mumbled while looking down. I realized that he was was scanning the corners of the counters. I felt a smirk come on to my face.

"Are you still afraid of spiders?" I asked rather cockily.

He glared at me but you could easily see the tips of his mouth tilting upwards. "About as much as you are of snakes."

"I am not afraid of snakes," I huffed.

He sighed in relief. "Good, because we have tons of those out front."

I jumped up and clutched the counter top as if it were the only thing anchoring me to the ground. "What?"

Malcolm laughed. I raised my eyebrows in amusement. The sound was very pleasant. It sounded a bit awkward but had that deep yet hearty feeling to it. "Relax," he said. "I'm just kidding."

I pouted. "Not funny."

Once again, he looked away from me. I knitted my eyebrows together. "Malcolm?"

"Yeah?" he replied, still not facing me.

I couldn't just ask why he kept looking away from me. That would sound to whiny and conceited. Plus, I knew not to mess around with Malcolm. Wait, what? We're just going to grab some dinner for everyone downstairs. I quickly changed my question. "Do you think dinner's ready?"

I think something passed in his eyes. I'm not sure. I never bothered to try and read other people. "Uh, I'll go check it out." He walked over to the microwave and took out the pizza, setting it quickly on the counter before rushing over to the stove to switch it off. He then placed the hot bowl of soup along with a spoon in front of me.

"Thanks," I mumbled before sipping my food. Malcolm merely nodded.

After I finished my dinner five minutes later, I put my bowl in the sink. The gray-eyed boy had been sitting across from me, deep in thought.

He eventually stood and balanced the box of pizza in his arms. I followed him, switching the lights off. The first floor was drowned in darkness. I couldn't see anything due to being in light a while longer, my eyes hadn't adjusted.

I bumped harshly into something solid, letting out a loud yelp as I fell to the floor on top of the... person? It was obviously Malcolm, who quickly turned himself around to prevent himself from falling face first into the ground.

I could make out the faint outlines of his face. His curious gray eyes stared up at me in shock.

Before I could open my mouth to apologize, someone had switched the lights on. I snapped my head to the bottom of the stairs to see Percy and Annabeth standing there. Percy had an amused expression on his face while the latter had a look of slight disapproval.

Percy let out a laugh. "We were wondering why it was taking so long to get some pizza. I did not expect you two going at it on the floor."

The boy below me quickly pushed me off him, wiping off imaginary dust. I fell once again to the ground and winced as I hit the surface. I couldn't believe that he had just shoved me away. He focused on me on the floor and offered a hand, looking apologetic. I accepted it and pulled myself off. I let my hand linger in his a second longer before he snatched his away.

Percy bent over and picked up the pizza that had slid across the floor when we fell. He grabbed a slice and bit into it. His voice was muffled as he spoke to Malcolm. "So you and Kayla, huh?"

"No!" Malcolm protested. "I would never!"

I raised an eyebrow. Was I that bad to him?

"I mean..." he trailed off then groaned. "Let's just go upstairs." He didn't wait for anyone to reply. Instead, he pushed past the couple and went upstairs.

I huffed. "What's wrong with him?"

Percy shrugged while Annabeth had her eyebrows scrunched together. She looked after her brother who didn't even look back.

"I have no idea," she finally said.

As we walked upstairs, I began to notice the events that happened in the past ten minutes. Malcolm looking away when I smiled. Malcolm pulling his hand away. Malcolm pushing me off him. Malcolm immediately protesting to Percy's statement.

I don't think Malcolm liked me very much...

Annabeth fell into a step beside me. She didn't look at me however. She looked straight ahead.

"What was that?" she asked quietly.

"It was dark. I fell," I replied simply.

"Yeah." She rolled her eyes. "Because my brother just happened to be there to catch you."

I scowled. "Look, Annabeth. I'm not trying anything." Lies. "Besides, I'm pretty sure you're brother doesn't like me all that much."

Annabeth merely rolled her eyes before catching up with Percy. I was left behind everyone else. I don't get it. What makes these three people so different from everyone else who either adored me or feared me.

I don't think I like it...

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**A/N: Sorry again, I updated reeeaaally late. I have no excuses. Again, Kayla is like Drew. She gets better into the story. (:**

**Review! It might not be updated when you expect it to be but more reviews, etc. will make me want to give you more. **


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